Ryan Russell Gibbs

Ryan Russell Gibbs was born on September 5, 1981, at High Plains Baptist Hospital in Amarillo, Texas. Ryan, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died on February 10, 2012, from injuries suffered in a tragic car accident near New Orleans. He was 30 years old.

Ryan was a Renaissance Man. His passion in high school was music. He loved the piano, played drums and percussion in his high school band and spent a summer touring with the Blue Knights Drum Corp from Denver, Colo., before graduating in 2000 from Plainview High School, Plainview, TX. With the intent to major in percussion performance at Baylor University, his interests changed to business and he graduated from Baylor in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, majoring in real estate and minoring in entrepreneurship.

After graduation, he worked in Austin for a few months before deciding to return to undergraduate studies at Texas Tech University to pursue a degree in writing. His studies at Texas Tech included spending two semesters studying abroad in Seville, Spain. Ryan graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a 4.0 GPA from Texas Tech in 2009. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English as a creative writing major with a double minor in Spanish and psychology.

As a Master of Fine Arts graduate student at Louisiana State University, Ryan served as the graduate assistant for The Southern Review for two years. He also taught English composition and a fiction workshop as a graduate instructor for the English department. In his final semester of study, Ryan was writing a screenplay for his master’s thesis. In addition, Ryan was one of the premier photographers in Baton Rouge. His website, www.rgibbs.com, highlights his work.

Ryan loved reading, writing, watching movies and sports, playing golf, fly fishing, listening to music and playing trivia and chess. He sky dived over the Alps in Switzerland and snorkeled among the coral reefs in Jamaica. His life was full and meaningful. He deeply loved his family and friends. Ryan will be missed by all who knew him.

Ryan is survived by his parents, Russ and Vicki Gibbs of Bryan/College Station, TX; his grandparents, Marion and Jennie Gibbs of San Angelo, TX; his grandmother, Tady Heiskell of Amarillo, TX; his aunt, Jamie Johnson of Canyon, TX; his uncle, Steven Heiskell of Amarillo, TX; his uncle George Heiskell of Vancouver, WA; and numerous cousins along with a host of friends.

Memorials may be sent to the creative writing graduate program at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.